U.S. hopes to buoy Honduras President-elect Castro with Harris visit
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[January 27, 2022]
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Gustavo Palencia
WASHINGTON/TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - U.S.
Vice President Kamala Harris visits Honduras on Thursday for the
inauguration of leftist President-elect Xiomara Castro, whose assumption
of power has been clouded by political turmoil that Washington hopes to
alleviate with a show of solidarity.
U.S. officials want to work with Castro to curb illegal immigration from
Central America and shore up international support for Taiwan. Honduras
is one of the few countries in the world maintaining diplomatic ties
with Taipei.
Castro, the first woman to lead Honduras, assumes office embroiled in a
dispute with dissidents in her own party. Rival candidates have declared
themselves head of Congress, undermining her ability to pass
legislation.
Taiwanese Vice President William Lai is also attending the inauguration
in a bid to bolster ties with Honduras under Castro, who during her
election campaign threatened to switch allegiance to Beijing from Taipei
if elected president.
After meeting Lai on Wednesday, Castro said Honduras is grateful for
Taiwan's support and hopes to maintain their relationship. Lai had been
due to hold formal talks with Castro and deliver materials to combat the
COVID-19 pandemic, but that was cancelled, Taiwan's Central News Agency
said.
Luis Leon, director of the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty
Democracy in Central America, said Harris' arrival is a boost for Castro
in the dispute over control of Congress and in addressing Honduras' weak
economy.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/charrons_bch_2022.png)
It means the United States has an "opportunity to position its interests
on issues such as migration and maintaining the country's relations with
its ally Taiwan," Leon said.
The United States, under its "one China" policy, acknowledges Beijing's
position that Taiwan is part of its territory though the United States
does not endorse this stance. The U.S. does not have formal diplomatic
ties with Taiwan.
Harris has been tasked by President Joe Biden with addressing the "root
causes" of migration from Central America, but her trip comes as Biden's
popularity at home has waned and his immigration strategy hhas stalled.
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![](../images/012722pics/news_x47.jpg)
Vice President Kamala Harris walks to board Air Force Two for a trip
to Honduras to attend the inauguration ceremony for Honduras'
President-elect Xiomara Castro at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S.
January 27, 2022. Erin Schaff/Pool via REUTERS
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/chicagost_lda_LUAL_2021.png) During a bilateral meeting with
Castro, Harris plans to discuss economic opportunity, the fight
against corruption and managing migration, U.S. officials said.
"We do very much want and intend to do what we can to support this
new president as she tries to make progress," one administration
official told reporters.
Castro has vowed to tackle corruption, poverty and violence in
Honduras, chronic problems that have helped fuel illegal immigration
to the United States.
But her legislative program has been jeopardized by renegade
politicians from her Libre party, who over the weekend allied with
the conservative opposition National Party to vote for one of its
members to head Congress.
That has created a rival legislature and breached a pact that Libre
had made with its electoral ally, the Salvador Party, to appoint one
of the latter's members to lead Congress.
Castro and the rest of her party have recognized a Salvador lawmaker
as Congress' legitimate leader.
Castro's inauguration ends the eight-year rule of the National
Party's Juan Orlando Hernandez, who has been accused in U.S. courts
of corruption and links to drug traffickers.
Hernandez, whose brother last year was sentenced to life in prison
plus 30 years for drug trafficking by a U.S. judge, has repeatedly
denied the allegations.
(Additional reporting by Nandita Bose, Michael Martina and Ben
Blanchard in Taipei, Editing by Leslie Adler and Chizu Nomiyama)
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